The entire project comprising 4.6 kilometers of tunnels will be finished in October.
The tunnels on the Akko-Karmiel railway have been joined as the teams from each direction met underground. The 4.6-kilometer tunnels were dug by a joint venture of Danya Cebus Ltd. (TASE: DNYA) and China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), which dug the Carmel Tunnels. The digging cost NIS 700 million, using the New Austrian Tunneling method (NATM), which involves the extensive use of explosives.
Danya Cebus CEO Ronen Ginzburg estimates that the project will be completed in October, three months ahead of schedule, which will make the companies eligible for a NIS 3 million bonus.
CCECC's Israeli representative, Shaul Bitterman, said that, following the visit to China by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Transport Yisrael Katz and the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the countries, the Chinese government decided to expand the activity of Chinese infrastructure companies in Israel. He said that China's top infrastructure company was very interested in the Eilat railway, train electrification, and new ports projects.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 23, 2014
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